


don't ever doubt that

by ghostscribe



Series: below the summit [3]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, literally it's just fluff and Red being gay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-18
Updated: 2019-08-18
Packaged: 2020-09-06 11:57:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20291086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghostscribe/pseuds/ghostscribe
Summary: It's a loop that starts with Red, because he needs to hear Green's voice.(or: acrosspostedshort drabble)





	don't ever doubt that

It's four in the morning, and they're still awake, because of course they are, of course the two youngest ever Champions of Kanto both happen to have insomnia. It's four in the morning when Green makes his request out of nowhere, during a lull in his endless slew of rambling about research and silly things Eevee did that day.

"You wanna get food somewhere?" 

And initially, Red answers as he always has.

"No."

It's always _no _with him, because he hates being in public, he doesn't remember a day he hasn't had a social phobia, he hasn't been to a restaurant since he was a kid, and he hasn't "outgrown" his childhood fears. He barely managed his appearance at the Pokémon World Tournament in Unova; that's enough time out for a lifetime. He's content to hole himself up in the apartment, the Kantonian wilderness, and maybe Viridian City's gym, if he's feeling brave.

"You sure?" Green presses. It's a gentle nudge more than a proper shove, but it's still more pressure than he's put on Red since they came back to Kanto. He's carefully casting his lure, he's baiting Red, and Red can clearly see the hook and the line through the water. "We can just go somewhere fast. All the sit-down places are closed, anyway."

He knows Green is trying to reel him in, and yet, Red bites. 

"Why do you ask?"

"I dunno, I'm hungry?" It sounds like more of a question than an answer, a subconscious mimicry of Red's tone. "I wanna get like, Pancham Express or something. I want food, but I don't have enough energy to actually cook something here."

"Isn't going out just as much energy?"

"Nah." It's easy for any normal person, anyone who isn't Red, but Green understates that. "Not for me, anyway, y'know how I am. I'd rather walk like, ten minutes down the road than have to actually get the kitchen re-organized."

"Mm."

Green waits, but Red doesn't answer; he's considering it, though, he's bouncing from _it isn't safe to go out there, people will find you and people will follow you and you're going to get hurt, _then back to _if Green is with you it's going to be okay, it's the middle of the night anyway, we haven't eaten since six in the evening so maybe -_

"What do you think?"

"…lemme get my hat."

Red notices the excitement in Green's eyes, and he pretends not to notice it, because he knows Green will worry if Red knows that he's getting his hopes up. It's a feedback loop they have that they always get sucked into. It starts with Green and his _I want you to see you get better but I don't want to draw attention to it because I don't want you to get scared,_ and Red's rebuttal is something along the lines of _I don't want to get your hopes up because I'm still a mess but I want you to be proud of me,_ so they both just pretend that they don't see the oddities in each other, they pretend everything is normal, and that seems to work out for them. 

They pretend everything is normal, but Red still takes note of the way Green chats with the night shift's cashier. Green is apparently used to late-night runs here, from years of staying up way too late to keep his mind off his missing rival, so he's familiar with the older woman behind the counter. Red overhears her whisper something about how _Green looks happier nowadays_ to the chef in the back, and he pretends not to become vividly aware of the glow in Green's eyes and how he never had that gleam about him when he visited on Mount Silver. Red pretends it's the lights playing tricks on him.

They opt to eat outside; the night air is cool, the full moon is soft, and it's quiet enough that they (Red, mostly) can be at ease. It's not the light playing tricks, Red realizes now, Green is just aglow, and Red lets him talk and laugh and talk, he listens and signs back, he finishes his food half an hour before Green does, because Green doesn't know when to shut up and Red doesn't know when to stop listening. It's a feedback loop they have, wherein Green gets on a tangent, and Red signs his questions when Green takes a moment to eat, and then Green is babbling away again. 

It's a loop that starts with Red, because he needs to hear Green's voice.

Green's words don't quite echo, but he's practically singing, his voice is warm, it makes Red feel dizzy in the most pleasant way. His voice lingers in Red's mind, it makes something swell in his heart, it makes him forget that they're outside and that he managed to go out in public and it almost makes him forget that he was ever afraid of anything at all.

"So that's the short explanation of Blastoise's mega evolution," Green concludes, looking down at his phone, "almost… uh, thirty minutes later. You could've stopped me whenever, y'know."

Red just shrugs and signs back. _(I like listening to you.) _

"I'm glad someone does," he jokes, laughs through his words, even though there's a hint of actual insecurity there. "I still talk too much."

_(I love that about you,)_ then, signed under such dim moonlight that only Green could ever see, _(and I love you.)_

Then, hummed so softly that only Red could ever hear, "I love you too. Don't ever doubt that."

And he doesn't, Red doesn't doubt it from the moment they walk home under the yellow street lights to the moment they fall asleep under the blankets and the glow of a distant sunrise. He doesn't doubt it from the moment the same sun wakes them up to the moment the same sun sets over their Alolan honeymoon. He doesn't ever doubt it.

**Author's Note:**

> i'll be honest, i have no idea where this came from but i just needed to get this out i guess? it's fluff hours  
sorry my activity on here is always so spotty, i either _really_ get on a role with writing (a la ReuNite) or just crash for awhile. i'd say i'll try to be more consistent, but school's around the corner, so ;u;  
also if you've ever wondered if i'm good at making up titles: i'm not thanks for asking


End file.
